Stay Connected, Stay Sane

Technology has advanced to a place that allows for constant connectivity. Getting a hold of someone is as easy (and as impersonal) as sending a simple text message.   No matter where we go, as long as we have a smartphone in our pocket, we are within reach. This has been a beneficial change in many respects, but what are the negative effects of growing up in the age of connectivity? Communication is growing digitally; aspects of this will be positive where others will be negative. In this blog we will take a look at a few of the pros and cons of staying connected digitally.

The Pros

• Being connected means increased safety. No mater what emergency you face; contacting the appropriate help is no longer a serious concern. Through increased technology, cell phone range is greater than ever. Car accidents and unforeseen accidents and illnesses even in remote locations can be quickly relayed to emergency help services.
• Staying in touch is now as easy as clicking a button. Ask any soldier deployed over seas and they’ll tell you that staying in touch with their families is now easier than ever. Sending a message takes only a second thanks to highly advanced Internet connections and international bandwidth.
• Technology has made telecommuting an accessible reality. Thanks to cloud computing, working at home is easy and practical. This allows workers on maternity or sick leave to maintain a valuable level of productivity.

The Cons

• Turning your phone off is challenging. Being constantly connected migh result in a decrease of personal space. With communication barriers being redefined, finding time alone is now more challenging than ever. Remember, it’s important to disconnect and relax.
• The ability to take your office with you also means you are always at the office. While redefining the workday and enabling more flexible hours can increase productivity, it can also make workers over-work. It’s important to keep your private and professional lives independent, which is increasingly difficult thanks to increased connectivity.
• Being connected can cause us to disconnect from those around us. Staying in touch with people who are miles away can cause us to neglect those close to us. We may be communicating with our associates overseas, but we might also be negelecting our friends in the very same room.

Digital communication is simply a new way for us to communicate. However, it’s important to remember moderation when deciding how connected we allow our lives to become. Connectivity is not fundamentally good or bad; instead its merit is dependent on how you utilize it.

For more information on connectivity, as well as an interesting look at unplugging yourself from technology, take a look at this article. 

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